Coffee
by Loren-Mac
Summary: An unusual pair meet in the supermarket


"Need some help?" a voice came from beside Rhys. The owner of the voice had been watching him for some time from the other side of the coffee aisle.

Rhys spun around and looked at the stranger. "Was it that obvious that I did?" he asked, rubbing his forehead.

"Just a little bit, yeah. I've not seen anyone stare at a medium roast for that long before. I've found myself quite entranced by a dark roast in the past though."

"Oh, a Welsh coffee expert?" Rhys joked whilst inspecting the stranger. He was tall and wearing a perfectly fitted suit. He fidgeted about a bit with embarrassment at being called an expert.

"Not at all. I just enjoy a good mug or two…I am quite a seasoned drinker, that's all." The stranger frowned a little, "usually when you hear that it's not a good thing."

Rhys laughed at this and shrugged. "Do you have any advice for the novice then?"

The Welshman picked up a few bags of coffee from a shelf that Rhys hadn't noticed and pushed them both into Rhys' hands. "This one," he indicated the one in Rhys' left hand, "comes from Indonesia. It's the kopi luwak bean…"

Rhys shook his head with distaste, "I may know very little about coffee but my girlfriend told me about that one. That's the one that has been through a monkey first, right?" 

"It's a cat… but, yes..." the stranger nodded. "You really should try it though. One of the best coffees I would say. It is very smooth with a nice low acidity about it." Rhys did not look convinced and the stranger took the bag of coffee back off of him. "But, if you're sure and you can't be convinced…"

"Which I can't." Rhys took one last look at the coffee, "and look at that price!"

"Okay, point taken," the stranger informed him, dropping the coffee into his own shopping basket. "However, I do think the other one will be to your liking." He indicated the one in Rhys' right hand, "much cheaper and delightlfully smooth and nutty. This, in my opinion, is the best coffee you can get. Definitely good for a night in with the girlfriend."

"Don't get chance of that much anymore, unfortunately…" Rhys mumbled and placed the coffee into his basket. He looked at the stranger who seemed either to not notice his comment or was ignoring it. "I would like to know more about coffee actually. My girlfriend tells me it would branch out my horizons. She seems to suddenly know so much about these things these days and I feel rather inadequate most of the time. If you hadn't have helped me I'd have gone home with a jar of nescafé's instant gold blend…"

"A tragedy in itself," the stranger remarked, smiling ever-so-slightly. Rhys turned to leave but the suited stranger reached out an arm and pulled him back. "Hey, I was just thinking… if you wanted to try a few before you make any decisions about what to get I know a great coffee place by the bay."

Rhys looked down for a moment and thought about how Gwen could be at home waiting for him.

"I mean… you don't have to," the stranger said softly, seeing the look on Rhys' face.

"No… no… there's no reason to go home." And it was true. The chances of Gwen actually being home were so slim these days. It used to be that he could guarantee that she'd be waiting for him if he'd been out. It used to be that he knew where she was… it used to be that they'd gone shopping and bought coffee together. But not anymore. Things had changed since she'd become part of special ops. He missed her.

"You can leave your car here if you like, I can drop you back here after. It'd just make things easier," the stranger told him, walking over to the till to purchase his coffee. 

"Hmm…" Rhys murmured. "Shouldn't I atleast know your name first. I mean… my mum always told me not to get into cars with strange men."

The stranger went slightly red and quickly passed a crisp twenty pound note over to the cashier. "Of course… my name's Ianto." He held out a hand and Rhys shook it. 

"Rhys," he grinned and they went off into the bright sunshine outside. The sun was high in the sky and forced Rhys to squint at the many cars. He had no idea how Ianto had been able to spot his so easily with the brilliant glare reflecting into his deep blue eyes.

They had driven in almost silence, neither of them quite sure what to say to each other. They made polite smalltalk about the weather and midday Cardiff traffic but little else was spoken of.

The coffee shop was small but filled with such amazing aromas that Rhys had never experienced before in his life- let alone in any other coffee shop.

"Wow…" Rhys whistled as he sat down near the back of the shop. He had trusted Ianto to choose a good selection of coffees for him to try. It gave him time to have a look around. There were a mixed range of people from all walks of life. Many of them were suited professional types like Ianto but just as many wore average street clothing and they all sat together sharing their love for coffee. In any other respect these people would have had nothing in common. This was a place where doctors sat with lawyers and cleaners and builders and no one cared. 

"You meet some interesting people in here sometimes," Ianto said, reading his mind, as he sat down at the table. Rhys jumped a little having not noticed him there. On the table Ianto placed down a tray containing four mugs of steaming coffee of various shades and each with very distinctive odours.

"Yeah? You come here often?"

Ianto smirked. "Are you trying to chat me up, Rhys?"

"No!" Rhys protested, a little too quickly. Ianto raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. Instead he pushed one of the mugs towards the other man.

"Try that one first," he instructed. Rhys obeyed. His face suddenly lit up and he nodded at Ianto.

"Now, Yan, that's a good coffee!"

"I told you it was," Ianto smiled.

"It's not?" Rhys asked, suddenly looking disgusted.

"It is. Fresh from the civet cat…"

Rhys pushed the mug aside and grabbed at the nearest other mug. "This didn't come out of any animals, did it?" 

"No."

"Good…" Rhys took a long drink from the mug before placing it back down. "I'm sorry… it was good coffee but I just can't bare to think of where it's been…" 

"They do clean it… a lot of work goes into it. Hense the large price tag." Ianto explained but he could tell he'd never sell the coffee to him. "What about that one, what do you think of it?"

"It's… nice." Rhys pulled a face. Surely he could come up with something better than 'nice'. "Rather full-bodied but it has a nice texture…" he'd heard it said on TV before. He still wasn't quite sure what it meant but it sounded good.

"Smell it," Ianto told him.

"What?" 

"Smell it. I'm being serious."

Rhys bent forward and breathed in. He felt the delicious deep, rich scent of the coffee filling his nostrils. It was pleasantly surprising. The moment was spoiled by a beeping and Ianto looked guiltily down at his phone. He flipped it open- a message from Torchwood.

"I'm really sorry, I have to go..." Ianto explained, picking up his jacket from the back of the chair. "Work calls"

"And you go running..." Rhys looked suddenly very disappointed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I mean, you're just like my girlfriend. She's exactly the same."

Ianto smiled apologetically and walked out of the door. Rhys sat for a moment and then ran after him.

"Wait!" he called, "I have a pub quiz tonight and we're one down. I was wondering if you'd like to join us. It's at the Owain Glyndwr on St. John's street, you know it?"

Ianto nodded and rushed off into the distance as he pulled his jacket back on and straightened his tie out again. He paused briefly as he approached the millennium centre to check that Rhys had not followed him. He found himself slightly wishing that he had- but he was nowhere to be seen. Not that he had any intention of attending the pub quiz. It wasn't exactly his thing.

He walked into the hub through the tourist information office and found everyone standing around Tosh's workstation.

"We've lost Janet." Jack informed him, talking of the Weevil they kept in the cells. "I don't know how it happened, but it did."

"She was being a bit restless earlier. We figured it was their telepathic empathy doing something. Next thing we knew, she was gone," Tosh explained.

"Right. But she still has the tracer on, correct?" Ianto asked.

"Correct. So now Tosh's trying to find her. It shouldn't be too hard. What worries me is that we don't know how she got out in the first place. She should have been secure," Owen added.

"Got her!" Tosh exclaimed, breaking the silence. "She's on Oakfield Street, stationary."

Jack grabbed the keys and made for the door but Ianto grabbed them off him.

"I think you should leave the driving to me, don't you think? I hate your driving."

"Well, we should get you a chauffeur hat, shouldn't we? I'm sure Jack would love that." Owen sniped, grabbing up a box and heading for the lift with Gwen in tow. Things hadn't quite been the same since the rift had been opened. Jack certainly hadn't looked at him the same. He felt almost like there was someone else Jack was thinking of instead and everyone else thought it was just the same. They saw Ianto as some sort of lapdog to Jack and he didn't like it.

Ianto snarled at Owen and raced up to the SUV. They drove in silence until they reached their destination. It seemed to be happening more and more often recently and Ianto had never felt more alone. Sometimes it had been so full of laughs and excitement but right now everyone seemed to be at the end of their tether. There was enough tension in the air to cut it with a knife and everything was left unsaid except by Owen with his snide comments.

"We can see her," Jack informed Tosh with his earpiece.

"What is she doing?" Owen asked. "She's just... standing there."

It was only as they approached the Weevil that they could see another Weevil lying dead upon the pavement. Its eyes still open, blood splashed around its mouth. Janet was standing still, staring at the corpse until another weevil suddenly appeared opposite her and mirrored her actions.

"Since when can they do that?" Gwen asked, open mouthed.

"I don't know," Jack replied, honestly. "I say we just watch and wait to see what happens."

And that was exactly what they did. They sat in silence for the most part, and watched as a few more Weevils appeared out of thin air to mourn the dead. There were five of them in total, gathered around the deceased. 

"What is this, some kind of funeral?" Gwen asked.

"I don't know. I say Ianto goes to have a look, he's dressed for it." Owen remarked, eyeing Ianto's suit. He then lowered his voice so that Jack could not hear, "But then again, we couldn't have the golden boy eaten by Weevils."

Ianto made to hit him but Gwen held him back. "It's not worth it," she told him. She took him over to behind the SUV. "Don't listen to him, Ianto. He gets some sort of strange kick out of it."

"I know, I know..." Ianto started.

"But maybe he has a point." 

Ianto frowned and made to say something else but she cut him off; "I didn't mean like that. I meant that he has a point because you do need to get out more. I don't know, find someone, have some fun... live a little."

"Yeah, thanks Gwen," he replied sarcastically before joining Jack and Owen again.

The weevils suddenly began to depart, disappearing back into thin air again.

"We've lost her!" Owen shouted down his earpiece.

"Tosh, check the cells," Jack instructed. 

"She's here..." Tosh sounded shocked.

When they arrived back at the hub everyone was busy making theories about why the weevils behaved as they did but Ianto just couldn't get Rhys off of his mind. He also couldn't help but think about what Gwen had said. He needed to get out more- why shouldn't he go and enjoy himself at a pub quiz? It didn't matter that it wasn't something he ever did- it was something new and it meant he was out meeting people like he should have been. Not sitting around waiting for Jack to decide he needed some company for the night.

Owen walked over to the cog door and waved to everyone, "I'm going now." 

"Yeah, me too." Piped up Ianto from the coffee machine. Everyone looked shocked but no one spoke as Ianto put the coffee down and walked out with Owen. It was the first time in months that Ianto hadn't been the last to leave.

He arrived at the pub an hour and a half later, freshly washed and wearing his favourite aftershave. He spotted Rhys immediately and walked over to him.

"Ianto, you came!" Rhys exclaimed, jumping up to greet him, "I didn't think you would. These are my friends, Dave, Gareth and Cerys."

"Hello," Ianto replied shyly and sat down next to Rhys.

Ianto was quite surprised at how much he actually knew, but that could have been due to his sober state compared to everyone else in the pub. Rhys was already on his 5th pint and his friends were not far behind.

"Now," the quizmaster said, "it's the tiebreaker question between 'The Drunken Dragons', and 'The football lovers'. The question is: from what animal does the kopi luwak coffee come from?"

Rhys raised his hand straight away; "The civet cat!"

"That is correct!" The quizmaster beamed at them. "So, 'The Drunken Dragons' win. Congratulations."

He turned and grinned at Ianto before going to accept the bottle of champagne. He came back with several glasses and placed them down upon the table.

"Not for me, mate. Cerys and I have to be up early, we'd better get going," Dave told him, waving out his hand vaguely.

"Me too, actually. The wife'll go made if I'm not home soon." Gareth made to stand up.

"Come on, Gareth, stay for a bit. Just one drink." Rhys pleaded, waving the bottle of Champagne under his nose.

"I can't, really."

Gareth left with Dave and Cerys, leaving Ianto and Rhys sitting in the slowly emptying bar. The lights were low and there was soft music playing in the background that had previously been lost under all of the voices. 

"You'll stay for one, won't you?" Rhys asked, pouring the champagne.

"Of course. I never turn down good champagne... and good company"

"And it's thanks to you that we won this," Rhys said, almost ignoring the comment about the good company.

"True... you'd have still been saying that it came out of a monkey."

They both laughed and as they put their glasses down Ianto's hand brushed against Rhys's. He felt a shiver go down his spine and he had to look away.

"I should go after this. And, you have a girlfriend to be getting home to," Ianto told the welshman, putting his glass down on the side.

"I doubt she'll be there. She's never really there anymore. All of these late nights and secrets ever since she got her new job. I'd rather be out than lying alone in an empty bed."

Ianto smiled politely and walked outside when Rhys did. He hadn't felt like he'd drunk too much until the fresh air hit him and he staggered slightly. There was a taxi sitting waiting outside that Rhys was making his way toward. Ianto walked up behind him and placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder

"You want to come back to mine for coffee?" Ianto asked

"Isn't that an innuendo?"

"Do you care?" Rhys laughed and shook his head, dragging Ianto into the taxi with him.

As they made their way into the flat Ianto stumbled and Rhys caught him. Their faces were only inches apart and Ianto could feel Rhys' hot breath on him. Ianto made the decision just then that he wasn't going to allow anyone to hold him back any longer. He moved closer and felt Rhys' mouth touch his, tasting mostly beer and champagne. He felt a little resistance at first before Rhys pushed him hard against the wall and hungrily explored his mouth.

Rhys hadn't imagined it could have felt this good. The emotions were rushing around inside of him and he didn't know what to do next for the first time in his life. Ianto was guiding him, placing his hand upon his crotch and he felt himself begin to melt. He shouldn't be doing this, he knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help himself. He loved Gwen, he knew he did. But he'd never experienced something like this before and he hadn't felt so alive in years.

Ianto pushed Rhys down onto the sofa and began unbuttoning his trousers, teasingly slowly. He could feel himself becoming hard but he refused to do things quickly. He felt such a hunger inside of him that he just had to push aside just in order to function.

"I'll go and get that coffee then, shall I?" Ianto asked, his voice a gentle whisper.

"Don't you dare." Rhys gasped.

He could feel Rhys also becoming agitated beneath him and Rhys suddenly tore open the last few buttons on his trousers and then grabbed at Ianto's. Ianto knocked away his hand.

"No, no," he teased, wagging his finger, "not yet."

He leant over and engaged in kissing him once again, this time slower and softer. He cupped his hands around Rhys' face, feeling the heat of his skin.

"Tell me how much you want it," Ianto demanded, playing with the button on his trousers.

"I want it so much." Rhys pleaded, making to grab at Ianto's hand.

"You'll have to do better than that."

"I want to have you inside me. I want to be able to smell your scent on my skin..." Ianto undid the first button. "I want to get lost in those eyes, I want to feel your hands everywhere..." Ianto undid the second button. "I just fucking want you, Yan". Rhys grabbed Ianto and kissed him once more as Ianto took away his hand and allowed him to undo the last remaining buttons.

He explored all of the different tastes around the man's body. His face, his neck, his chest, working his way down. He tugged at Ianto's underwear but the Welshman stopped him.

Ianto could feel that the man was nervous but he kept on teasing him, slowly applying the lube, slowly caressing his buttocks, taking everything slowly until at last, he could hold on no longer and he pulled down his underwear and entered him. He felt an eruption of pleasure inside of himself. It became frenzied, a tangle of limbs where he could not tell where Rhys ended and he began. All they knew was that they wanted each other. In every single way.

They lay beside each other, Rhys lying naked across Ianto's bare chest.

"How was the coffee?" Ianto joked.

"The best I've ever tasted," Rhys whispered.

When Rhys fell asleep Ianto watched him for a while longer until he, too, fell asleep, the sweat of their encounter still beaded on his body.


End file.
